After last year's disappointment, CNU women are Final Four bound

With Saturday's upset win over Ohio Northern, the CNU women are headed to the Final Four.

In many ways, Christopher Newport's journey to the Division III women's Final Four began exactly one year earlier in Scranton, Pa.

Having advanced to the Sweet 16 for the third time in four years, the Captains were barely competitive in an 82-46 loss at Scranton. CNU won 24 games, but that 36-point loss on March 11, 2016, was the lasting memory.

And, as it turned out, a source of motivation.

Saturday night in Ada, Ohio, CNU upset previously undefeated Ohio Northern 76-66 in the national quarterfinals. The Captains (29-2) will be going to the Final Four for the second time in seven years.

And that disappointment at Scranton was the driving force.

"Most definitely," guard Makeda Wright said. "We saw how to compete and what we needed to do to compete with the top teams in the country.

"So throughout the summer time and preseason, and throughout this entire season, we've all put in more work than we have since I've been here. Individual workouts, eating right, sleeping right — we all dedicated our time to basketball."

Christopher Newport (29-2) will play Amherst (Mass.) College, in the Final Four for the second consecutive year, at 7:30 p.m. on Friday in Grand Rapids, Mich.

After comfortable wins at home over Staten Island and Lynchburg College in the first two rounds, CNU was shipped to Ada, Ohio for the sectionals. The Captains' third-round opponent was Hope (Mich.) College, which had upset previously unbeaten Thomas More.

CNU's Makeda Wright discusses how the Captains learned from last year's Sweet 16 loss to Scranton.

CNU's Makeda Wright discusses how the Captains learned from last year's Sweet 16 loss to Scranton.

CNU trailed by 11 points in the second quarter but came back for a 79-74 win. Sam Porter and Devon Byrd combined for 35 points and 24 rebounds, but another big factor was sophomore Madison Howdyshell off the bench.

Howdyshell had sprained her ankle during warm-ups prior to the Capital Athletic Conference final and missed the previous three games. She played 13 important minutes when Porter got into foul trouble. She finished with four points and four steals.

"I really wasn't expecting to play at all because on our team, anyone can step up on any given night," she said. "But when I was in there, I just had adrenaline going through me and I was just trying to do the best I could for my team."

CNU coach Bill Broderick appreciated it.

"She's one of the toughest kids in our program," he said. "I knew if anyone could go and play through the pain, it would be her. She came up big for us."

Then came CNU's biggest challenge of the season to date: Ohio Northern, which was 30-0 and had the home-court advantage. CNU led by 15 points at halftime and won 76-66 thanks to 13-of-28 shooting from the 3-point arc.

"I'm really, really happy for the girls," Broderick said. "When you look at how the year started, you go from being picked second in your own conference to going to the Final Four. It's just amazing."

See CNU's men's and women's basketball season in photos.

Interestingly, Friday's game will come almost six years to the day of its last national semifinal appearance — which was also against Amherst. The Captains lost 69-59, and Amherst won the national title a day later.

The Purple and White, as Amherst is called, will be making its seventh Final Four appearance.

"Amherst is kind of the UConn of D-III women's basketball," Broderick said. "But if you're going to get to the Final Four, you're going to have to play one of these mecca programs.

"We welcome it. Like I told the girls, they're really good. But you know what? We're pretty good right now, too."